Since earlier this year, new AA Women’s Services Center Director Bridgett Craig has been hard at work finding ways to expand operations and help ladies in the local area who are in need. Recently, Craig and several volunteers raised over $2,000 when they revived the “Wrap for a Cause” Christmas gift wrapping fundraiser.
“It has gone great,” Craig said when interviewed on the final day of the fundraiser. “Word has gotten out, and people have been sharing the gifts that we have wrapped. We have had about 15 volunteers, and it has been great to have all of the different people here to help us.”
The fundraiser took place across two Saturdays earlier this month, on Dec. 6 and Dec. 13. Members of the community were able to bring their gifts to 17th Street Christian Church in Corbin, where Craig and her team provided boxes, wrapping paper, ribbon and anything else needed to create bright, festive-looking packages to be placed underneath the Christmas tree.
Each package was wrapped for a minimum suggested donation, depending on the size. At the end of the fundraiser, Craig said the center had raised a total of $2,210, which exceeded her previous expectations.
“It’s not only the money that we’re raising, but also the awareness,” Craig said. “We have been able to talk to different people about what we do at the center, and they are telling their friends. I wanted two things – to make money for the center, but also to make people aware that we’re still here. We’re still here, but we need more volunteers and help. I wanted to make them aware of that too.”
AA Women’s Services, located at 301 US-25W in Corbin, offers assistance, encouragement and spiritual support for women throughout pregnancy and into early toddlerhood. Thanks to donations and support from the community, they are able to provide essentials such as diapers, formula and wipes to young mothers who otherwise could not afford them.
Through parenting and child development classes, AA Women’s Services provides education to new and expecting mothers in areas such as childcare, fetal development, the effects of drugs and alcohol, emotional health, and more. Participation in these programs will also provide mothers with access to additional resources, including clothing and other items.
As for how the money raised through the recent “Wrap for a Cause” fundraiser will be utilized, Craig said it will primarily be put toward the purchase of new car seats for newborns who need them. In addition, the funds will be used to further expand new parent training opportunities.
Craig said that wrapping gifts not only helped the center raise much-needed funds this holiday season, but it also helped her and all of the volunteers to get into the Christmas spirit.
“Look around you,” she said when interviewed from inside the community room at 17th Street Christian Church.
“Every single person in here is smiling. A lot of these people don’t know each other, but look at them helping. I think that is huge, and it is helping us to work together as a community in order to help others.”
Craig thanked everyone in the community for their continued support of AA Women’s Services, and asked for those who are able to help by volunteering to consider doing so in the New Year. If that isn’t possible, she said that sharing information and simply praying for the future of the center is always appreciated as well.
For more information on how to contribute to the cause at the AA Women’s Services Center, call them at (606) 523-1113. To read more about Craig and her plans for the center moving forward, search for the article titled “New director of AA Women’s Services center calling for volunteers ready to make a difference” online at thenewsjournal.net/.
